Heating furnace



Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES William\ HEA'IV'ING FURNACE WarrenDennis, Donora, and Allen Robinson, Monongahela, Pa.

Application March 24, 1937, serial Nn. 132,818

3 Claims.

This invention `particularly relates to heating furnaces provided with'apparatus for preventing small billets or the like from buckling whenbeing pushed therethrough.

As the sides of the grooves in rolls wear away from use, they becomeconcave and billets having slightly convex surfaces are produced. Whenthese billets are charged side by side in reheating furnaces, and anattempt to push them therethrough is made, they have a tendency to rockon the convex surfaces and buckle out of line, forming a jumbled mass.If the billets buckle they should immediately be removed from theheating furnace to preventr them becoming misshapened and bent due totheir own weight; but even then, in many cases, they must bestraightened before they can be recharged in the furnace.

An object of this invention is to provide means for facilitating thepassage of billets through heating furnaces.

'Ihe above and further objects will be made apparent by. referring tothe following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan of one embodiment of our invention; and,

Figure ,2 is an elevation of Figure 1.

Referring more particularlyto the drawing, the numeral 2 indicates aheating furnace which has a charging end 4 and a discharging end 6. Ahearth B supports billets 9, or the like, that are placed inthe heatingfurnace 2. Any billets, or the like, that are placed in the heatingfurnace 2 are moved therethrough by suitable means (not shown), whichare adapted to exert pressure upon the last billets placed in theheating furnace 2 and force all of the billets 9 toward the dischargingend 6. This pressure upon the billets 9 causes a tendency to buckle,particularly if they have convex surfaces. f

In order to prevent the billets 9 from buckling when force is exerted onthem, a plurality of heavy metal bars I0, provided with flat bottomsurfaces I2, are secured in the billet heating furnace 2 at the chargingend 4; in some cases only one metal bar may be required. The ilat bottomsurfaces i2 are preferably relieved or terminate in upwardly directedcurves adjacent the charging end 4 and those ends of the bars i0arepivotally anchored in the heating furnace 2 by any suitable devices,such as eye-bolts and hangers I4. The ends of the bars I0 are supportedby eye bolts I6 that engage with means on the bars i0 to prevent thebars i0 from bearing upon the hearth 8. The bars I0 are preferablysecured substantially parallel to the direction of vmovement of thebillets 9 through the heating furnace 2, but they must be mounted -topermit their surfaces I2 to`be parallel to the surface of the hearth 8.The surfaces i2 ordinarily should be spaced from the hearth 8 adistance' that is 5 slightly less than the thickness of the .billets 9placed thereon. By mounting the bars I0 in this manner, they iioat upon.or are supported by, the upper surfaces of the billets 9.' If theheating furnace is to heat varying sized billets, the means l0 thatmount the bars i0 must be adjustable so that the bars I0 can be placedin the lsame position relative to any billets placed in the heatingfurnace.

lin some cases, it may be desirable to mount 15 the bars i0 so that theydo not ordinarily contact the billets 9 placed in the heating furnace.'I'he bars I0 should then be positively supported parallel to butslightly above the'billets 9 so that the billets 9 would still beprevented from buckling by 20 immediately striking the fixed bars I0.

As the tendency ofthe billets 9 to buckle is most pronounced when theyare adjacent the charging end 4, the bars l0 ordinarily need extend buta fraction of the length of the heating 25 furnace.

While we have shown and described a specific embodiment of theinvention, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limitedexactly thereto, since various modifications of the inven- 80 tion maybe made Without departing from the scope thereof, as denedby thefollowing claims.

We claim:

1. A heating furnace for billets or the like having a charging and adischarging end and a .35 hearthover which said billets are moved, saidheating furnace being provided with means for pushing said billetstherethrough, in combination with at least one heavy bar, meanspivotally securing one end of said bar on the inside of said 40 furnaceadjacent its charging end, said bar being positioned substantiallyparallel to said hearth at a distance therefrom slightly less than thethickness of the billets to be placed thereon, and yieldable meanssecuredto the opposite end of 45 said bar to prevent said bar fromdropping upon said hearth wherebysaid bar will float upon the uppersurfaces of the billets when they are placed upon said hearth.

2. A heating furnace for billets or the like having a charging and adischarging end and a hearth over which said billets are moved, saidheating furnace being provided with means for pushing said billetstherethrough, in combinatiom with a plurality of heavy metal barsprovided with ilat bottom surfaces that terminate in an upwardlydirected curve at one end of each oi' said bars, means pivotallysecuring the curved ends of said bars on the inside of said furnaceadiacent its charging end, said bars being normally positioned to permittheir flat surfaces to be parallel to said hearth at a distancetherefrom slightly less than the thickness of the billets to be placedlthereon, and adjustable yieldable means secured to the ends of said barsto pre- \vent said bars from dropping upon said hearth whereby said barswill float upon the upper surfaces of the billets when they are placedupon said hearth.

3. In a continuous furnace for heating billets, 'said furnace includinga charging end, a discharging'end, a hearth over which the billets areadapted to move and means for pushing the its opposite end which isyieldably attached to the top of the furnace, said billets adapted tocam said bars upwardly'upon progressively entering thereunder and intosaid furnace so that the bot- Ltom surface or said bars rests upon saidbmets,

the weight of the same being adapted to keep said billets from bucklingas they pass through the furnace.

- WARREN DENNIS.

ALLEN ROBINSON.

